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Chapter 19: Power Station
|Preceded by = Chapter 18: S1 |Followed by = Chapter 20: Coyote Stories }} Power Station is the nineteenth chapter in Gunnerkrigg Court. It starts . Summary Some students have decided to sneak out past curfew. Kat was invited to help them get past the security cameras. Annie accompanies them even though she "technically wasn't invited." Kat and Annie meet up with Margo and Janet outside the dorm room, and the four of them head over to the top floor of a tall building near an artificial lake. In the center of the artificial lake is a power station. Here, they meet up with Matt, Winsbury, Jack, and John. The eight students emerge onto a roof to watch a science experiment that Jack found. Jack found out about the science experiment because he likes to explore the court and, like Kat, finds it easy to "fiddle with the dorm's motion detectors" and "slip away." While waiting for the experiment, Margo catches William and Janet not fighting. Before the experiment starts, Zimmy and Gamma emerge onto the roof. Gamma puts her hand on Matt's face and is surprised when he responds. This also suprises Zimmy, who suddenly becomes protective of Gamma. Annie gets Zimmy's attention and when Zimmy finds out that students are on the roof she threatens to get them in trouble if anyone tries anything because she's allowed but they aren't. Annie placates her and Zimmy tells Annie that the power station is "screwin' with her head." Margo tries to compliment Gamma, but Zimmy translates it as an insult. The experiment starts. Clouds start forming, and the water level in the lake starts decreasing. The power station shoots some sort of beam into the horizon, and it starts raining. We see a very distressed Zimmy. Jack notices Zimmy and mentions to Kat and Annie that she doesn't look too well. The rain is not helping Zimmy as it did in chapter 11 and she shortly ends up in her imaginary Birmingham as in chapter 11. Annie also ends up in Zimmy's hallucination. Zimmy says that others may also be stuck in her hallucination. In response, Annie insists that instead of searching for Gamma, they must first find Kat. Zimmy acquiesces but tells Annie that she must "take Gamma's place...gettin' ridda" crowds of "nobodies" that inhabit fake Birmingham. Annie realizes that when Gamma touched Matt, she thought he was a nobody. Annie starts touching nobodies, making them disappear, and clearing a path for herself and Zimmy. When Annie asks Zimmy if she has tried to control her "gift", Zimmy throws a tantrum saying she's not lazy and she's only alive because of Gamma. During the tantrum, Kat arrives, and the trio set off in search of Gamma. Zimmy explains that the rain probably didn't help this time because it was fake, like showers, which also don't help. She also explains that she's "okay" right now because physically Gamma is still close to her. They make their way to an abandoned toy shop where Gamma and Zimmy have agreed to meet up should they ever get separated and find Gamma there surrounded by toys. Gamma says that no one ended up in the fake Birmingham other than Annie. When Kat lends Gamma a hand to get up, Annie cries out too late to stop her, and fake Kat is GOP'd out of existence. Gamma and Zimmy hug and the two of them end up back on the roof along with Annie and the rest of the kids. When back on the roof, Kat asks Annie if anything is wrong. Annie is surprised to see Kat and Zimmy tells Annie, "It's only as real as you let it be." Jack grabs Zimmy's arm with a confused and scared look on his face and she tells him, "Oh. You was there too, huh? Well, sucks to be you, mate." The other classmates are confused by Zimmy and what she said but dismiss her as a weirdo from Chester. As Kat is leaving, she wishes Jack farewell, but he replies "yeah...yeah." and seems distant. The chapter ends with Annie declaring that the night raises "more questions as to what this place really is" and that she "might know someone who would be willing to give some answers." Characters Featured * Antimony Carver * Katerina Donlan * Margo * Janet Llanwellyn * Horsebot * William Winsbury * Sullivan's John * Matt (named) * Jack Hyland (First Appearance) * Zimmy * Gamma Czarnecki Places Featured * The Power Station * Zimmyngham 19